Historic building on Bellaire eligible for national registry

The former Shell Oil Exploration & Production Research Laboratory on Bellaire Boulevard (David Bush)

David Bush, deputy director of Preservation Houston, reports that the Texas Historical Commission has determined that the former Shell Oil Exploration & Production Research Laboratory is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, the nation’s official roster of historic properties worthy of preservation.

That means if a buyer were to rehab the property, built in 1947 at 3737 Bellaire Blvd., the project could qualify for a 20 percent federal rehabilitation tax credit, according to the local preservation group, which contacted the historical commission at the request of a unnamed developer interested in buying the property.

The building, also known as the Bellaire Technology Center, served as a major research facility for Shell Oil until 2012. The west end of the Southside Place property was purchased by developer InTown Homes for a residential redevelopment.

A building from 1947 deserves historical status? Heck, I graduated from high school that year. Why don’t I get historical status? I need repurposing, too. I still haven’t decided what I want to be when I grow up.